Punishment: Branding

[Peter Stines]

When did this type of punishment stop ? During the Mexican War branding with the letter D for "Deserter" was still done. (John Riley of San Patricios infamy for example) I want to say it was stopped or limited during the CW but ??? I've read where branding was done on the hip, back of the hand, the thumb, and on the cheek below the eye.

 

[Tom Hughes]

I had never heard of branding as a form of punishment. Sounds effective, though. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Peter Stines]

I had never heard of branding as a form of punishment. Sounds effective, though. Thanks for sharing.

From what I've read It was done during the French & Indian War (probably even earlier ) and some of the British soldiers who fired into the crowd at the Boston Massacre were branded on the pad of their thumbs. (Makes me squirm just thinking about it )
Flogging was still done in Europe in 1870's. Not sure when it was abolished here.

 

[Tom Elmore]

Privates Charles Smith of Company C and Louis M. Waynock of Company B, 45th North Carolina, were subject to a Court Martial held on June 25, 1863 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Both were found not guilty of the charge of desertion, but were found guilty of being absent without leave. Their sentence was forfeiture of three months' pay and to be branded on the left hip with the letter S, two inches in length, in the presence of the regiment. The sentences were approved, but the punishment of branding was remitted. (Court Martial Proceedings, Headquarters Second Corps, Historical Reminiscences of the War; or Incidents which Transpired in and about Chambersburg, During the War of the Rebellion, by Jacob Hoke, Chambersburg, PA: M. A. Foltz Printer and Publisher, 1884)

 

[archieclement]

Was thinking I had read of it being continued postwar in western outposts, but not seeing anything online that gives a date, order, or code change to end it.

 

[Tom Hughes]

I know some Southerners were shot in Vicksburg for trying to desert during the siege.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

I just read about branding too and now I can't find it. I'm not sure it was widely done or last long in the CW.

 

[Miles Krisman]

There was a fictional television show in the 1960's called "Branded". The star, Chuck Connors, played a soldier wrongly accused of cowardice that was branded and thrown out of the army.

Although fictional, these shows were often developed based on real history.

Here's a link:

Branded (TV series) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Peter Stines]

There was a fictional television show in the 1960's called "Branded". The star, Jason McCord, played a soldier wrongly accused of cowardice that was branded and thrown out of the army.

Although fictional, these shows were often developed based on real history.

Here's a link:

Branded (TV series) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Chuck Conners a.k.a. THE RIFLEMAN. Among the lesser punishments: Buttons ripped off his jacket. Sabre broken and he was banished from the fort. He carried the broken sword through out the series. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE BRANDED ? YOU FIGHT FOR YOUR NAME.

 

[lelliott19]

Pvt. W F Dover, Co F, 16th NC Regt.
William F Dover, age 18, residence Buncombe County. Enlisted 7 May 1861 at Asheville for 12 months, Promoted to 1st Corporal 16 March 1864. Deserted 26 March 1865, pledged the Oath and furnished transportation to Columbus, Ohio.
Court Martial 11 February 1863
"To be branded on the left hip with the letter 'D' three inches in length."

 

[Peter Stines]

FWIW During the India Mutiny of 1857 some native prisoners were "blown from the gun" Literally chained or tied to the muzzle of a loaded cannon. If they refused to cooperate....you get the picture.

 

[Red Raider]

I scoured through Series 2-4 by keyword and this is all I found.

OR, Series II, Vol. 5. Treatment of Prisoners in Castle Thunder, Richmond, VA.

Captain Alexander (to committee). Gentlemen, I wish to prove by Doctor De Butts that I never refused an appeal of sickness. When a man is to be branded I direct the surgeon to indicate where the iron is to be placed and when men are sentenced to be whipped the lashes are remitted if in the opinion of the surgeon the part's health is unequal to the punishment.[1]

The OR doesn't go into detail about the branding punishments.

---

[1] United States War Dept., The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies., Series II, vol. 5, (Washington, D.C: Government Print Office, 1880), http://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924077699761., 905.

 

[Peter Stines]

FWIW I read a few accounts by British veterans of the later conflicts in the middle east. Flogging was still being done in the prisons and the military. Some of these accounts date from the 20th Century and describe the agony of being flogged. A series of knots tied in each leather "tail" and thin sheet lead folded around the strands so that a sharp flat edge made contact with the skin. Both added considerable weight and the strongest men wielded the whip. It could tear a back to shreds and cut down to the bone in a few strokes. The number of lashes varied from a dozen to a thousand with the latter taking weeks or even a month to complete. There would be several men waiting to take over when the previous flogger got tired. It was all up to the commander as to who got what, etc. AND YOU THINK YOU HAD A BAD DAY ?

 

[John Hartwell]

The Nashville Union, 11 February 1863, reports:

And then editorialized that such "inhuman" punishment was dealt out "for no other offence than attempting to escape from an involuntary service --- from chains forged at the instance of a despotism that shames the age in which we live!"

Two and a half years later, the Keene, N.H., Farmer's Museum of August 16, 1865, notes:

It seems it would have been considered less outrageous if the prisoners had not been white.

Period newspapers on both sides quite frequently mention, in passing, branding as a punishment for desertion.

 

[Copperhead-mi]

"At the beginning of the war flogging was a legal punishment, but it was banned in the US Army in August 1861 and in the Confederate Army in August 1862. Thereafter officers did occasionally have their men flogged, but this usually ended up with the officer facing a court-martial. Branding, however, remained legal throughout the war. Deserters were branded, usually on the forehead, cheek, hand, or hip, with the first letter of their crime. 'D' for deserter, 'C' for cowardice, 'T' for thief, or 'W' for worthlessness. Not all branding was done with hot irons; indelible ink was often used instead."
https://acws.co.uk/archives-military-discipline

 

[Copperhead-mi]

From what I've been able to find out, branding was not abolished until Article 54 of the 1874 United States Articles of War. I have not been able to find a copy of the 1874 Articles to post.

 

[Peter Stines]

I knew I could get some great answers. Gentlemen THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESEARCH AND EFFORTS!

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

I wonder why branding on the hip though? It isn't as visible as the back of the hand or thumb. I thought the purpose of branding was to show to the public, immediately, the punishment.

 

[Tom Hughes]

I wonder why branding on the hip though? It isn't as visible as the back of the hand or thumb. I thought the purpose of branding was to show to the public, immediately, the punishment.

You make a good point. It certainly isn't as visible.
I'm guessing its just for the humiliation of it.

 

[Peter Stines]

Grant was known for having troublemakers tied to a post and a gag tied in their mouth. No doubt facing directly in the blazing sun. Forcing the jaws open and keeping that way sounds pretty excruciating and the gag reflex !
Must have worked though. I certainly would have been a good little soldier after going through that